The Banned Witch
by senasni
Summary: A fanfiction in an AU in which Daenerys' fleet was destroyed by the slave masters before they could sail for Westeros. Now they have to find another way to the other coast and search for the help of a foreign family house that secures the last, forgotten landway over the Narrow Sea.
1. The White Passage

Slightly the Dragon Queen moved her hips around in the saddle. The last few days have been torture, but a Khaleesi of course would never openly admit that. Still her bottom and legs were bruised of the long ride they underwent to hopefully meet the "Lost Sister" of the Onthari family. Daenerys thought she should be used to traveling like this, on horseback for weeks, but this time, it was different. Even her horse, her beloved snow-white mare, seemed to lose endurance every day they moved higher into the mountains. The mountains. Daenerys lifted her head up to examine the massive rocks miles in front of her, towering up like dark shadows over her traveling party.

"They most certainly are impressive, aren't they, your Grace?" Jorah Mormont drove his horse next to hers. The poor animal was already covered in dried sweat all over. Dany suddenly felt the urge to call the men in for a short break. "How much longer to you think it will take?"

Jorah scrached his neck. "If young Lord Onthar's directions are correct - And I want to believe they are - we should arrive at the White Passage before sundown." The Khaleesi threw a gaze back to the men that swore to follow her where ever she wanted them to. Their faces were disorted by pain and exhaustion. Mountains definetly are no place for a Khalasar. The horse couldn't trust the stones under their hooves and both humans and animals suffered of the thin air surrounding them. "I hope your right. The men deserve a break after this ride." Suddenly her horse lost her balance on a loose stone and Daenerys was thrown to the side, frantically trying to keep her balance. The white mare let out a startled cry as her front legs crushed onto the hard ground. Human outcrys raised behin them as the soldiers noticed their queen in distress, but Jorah Mormont quickly secured Dany with a strong arm, while her horse managed to get back up. Still taken by surprise the Khaleesi only gave him a thankful nod in return and grabbed the reins once again. "We better watch out where we're going from now on. The path probably only gets worse from here."

She slowed down the gait of her mare, fearing a second fall, and let Jorah take over the lead. He directed his horse around a pile of broken stones, his brows furrowed. "No wonder nobody ever wants to visit if you almost end up dead before you even saw a glimpse of the castle walls."

If that was just the only reason the Onthars had to neglect their sister up here, everything would be a lot easier. But Daenerys knew the truth, or at least part of it, and with every step they got closer to the passage her doubts rose. Maybe she should have kept Drogon near her for this after all.

"Rekke anna was save! Laz yeri hear anna?" ( There it was again! Can you hear it?) The Dothraki soldier pointed to the rutted stone walls that towered up on both sides of the narrow path they had to cross. Dany followed his gesture, but she couldn't spot anything odd. Frustrated she turned back to the way in front of her. The men got more tense with every step and the density of their path didn't really help this at all. As if dealing with a bunch of nervous Dothraki and their spooking horses wasn't enough there was this sharp tweet that followed them since they entered the narrow mountains. The Dragon Queen threw a gaze to her adviser and cought him staring at her. Ser Mormont's face was speaking more than any word. He knew as well as his Queen that this chirps didn't come from a bird. That would be very odd following the fact that they didn't see one single bird since they left the last trees behind them.

The White Passage must be near and its protectors already knew that they were coming. Still Daenerys admired the fact that they had scouts throughout the passage. They seemed to be cautious, even though there wasn't one current incident that would justify that. If Lord Cosmo spoke the truth his siblings gave up the mountains after the first try, when their sister disastrous defeated their army.

If Dany now thought of meeting this woman, she couldn't decide what emotion was more prominent: Hopefulness and confidence, that she would agree to the alliance? Or nervousness and anxiety of what could happen if she didn't?

Out of a sudden screaming started behind her. The Khaleesi reacted fast enough to prevent her spooking mare from running into the group of riders behind her. Provoked neighs followed and one of the Dothraki men fought to stop his stallion from rearing.

"Anna is a qosarvenikh!" - "Khaleesi, fini hash kisha hash?" (It's a trap! - Khaleesi, what do we do?) As good as possible Daenerys Targaryen righted up in her saddle and set up a serious face. She turned to her men. "Hash ki show athrokhar, vosma stand zohhe." (Don't show fear, but stand down.") Then she rushed her mare forward, forcing her into a faster trot. She confidently glanced up to the scouts that suddenly appeared a few feets upon them on a hidden ledge. If they were surprised by her sudden move forward, they at least knew how to hide it very well. Or she just couldn't see their mimics because of the dark paint that covered their face entirely. No wonder they were so well hidden, with those dark faces and the grey and black clothes they almost blended in with the stones around them. By now the foreign scouts were vanished around a sharp corner in the path and Daenerys' Khalasar had managed to close up to her after calming their nerves and horses.

A short whistle echoed from the walls around them, the same they previously heard on their journey. Jorah called her out from behind a few Dothrakis. "They came out of their coverage, my Queen. They didn't seem hostile, but they were armed." His horse pushed through the wall of Dothrakis causing one of them to crash his leg into the massive stone next to them. The soldier disgruntled clenched his fist. Ser Mormont calmingly gestured him his apologies before turning to his queen. The rider still wasn't very pleased and grumbled. "Chiftik!" (a Dothraki insult)

Jorah attentive scanned the walls over them for more scouts. "Do you really think it is wise to advance this confidently? They may see it as a threat and -" "If they thought of us as a threat, they would have used a more urgent sounding chirp sound." Daenerys shut down his advise, before he could end it. These narrow walls frightened her more than she would admit and if these strangly painted people wanted a fight, her party would have not the glimpse of a chance. Dothrakis were made for the open, wide fields, not the mountains. Their horses could hardly keep on their feet as it was. Even her dragons wouldn't be much help here, they couldn't fit through these cracks in the stone to reach them on the bottom. And dragon fire would only turn this passage into a realization of hell on earth, not only the enemy, but also her own people. So the only hope Daenerys had was to advance further and reach wider grounds.

"Soroh!" (Halt!), the guard in front harshly pulled on his horses' reins and it threw its head into the air. The Khaleesi wisely followed him and brought her mare to a stop, in a much more gentle way. What she saw now, let her eyes darken in concern. Behind the last turn they took, the path broadened up a bit and the monotonous grey of the stones now was mingled with pale clay on the floor and dark green vines that trailed up the walls on both sides.

Although this chance of environment was very much a reason to cheer up, the constellation in front of the Mother of Dragons once again caused her warriors to tense up. "Shield your queen!", Ser Jorah clasped the hilt of his sword and immediatly three Dothraki men drew their weapons and turned their horses in front of Daenerys. In response the soldiers in front of them also aimed their bows. The white mare beneath the Khaleesi nervously moved her ears back and forth.

Now she had to react quickly before the situation got out of hand. Dany examined her surrounding. In front of them a stone arch of impressive height, even with horses double the normal size you could easily fit through. There was no gate or bars, nothing that would prevent them from tracking through if there weren't those guards. Two up on the arch with bows in their hands, another half a dozen of archers lined up on both sides of Daenerys men, but still out of their reach as they stood on invisible plateaus in the stone feet above. Lastly two guards with speers beneath the arch, these two seemed to be the most tense.

Daenerys gave Jorah a glare. "Weapons down." The knight opened his eyes wide. "But-" "I said back down. Ei ki yeri!" (All of you!)

Slowly the Dothraki followed her orders, but they didn't stop to shield her with their own bodies. Daenerys appreciated the thought, but what use has protection in front if the danger is above you? She glanced up to the archers on the walls, they still held their bows tight, but at least the arrows weren't at the ready anymore. The mother of dragons took a deep breath to secure a steady voice and spoke out.

"I am Daenerys of the House Targaryen, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea and Mother of Dragons. I came here to seek the help of your Lady Roan Onthar. Me and my men mean no harm to your people, I ensure you that.

Daenerys noticed the archers throwing glances back to the arch. She guessed, that their leader must be up there. But nothing else happened. The warriors behind her became more and more nervous, they weren't used to constricted situations like this with no way to fight out. She focussed on the two guards in front on her, narrowed her eyes to hold the eye contact despite the painful light sunset behind the arch.

"I wouldn't have traveled through these mountains for weeks, endangered the men I took with me and those I left behind, if it wasn't urgent. Lord Cosmo himself promised us we wouldn't be sent away without at least an audience."

Jorah and Dany exchanged a triumphing smile as the guards on the arch started to move. They weren't sure what part of the Targaryen's speech exactly convinced them, but with a whistle of the left archer all the others put their bows back down and relaxed. The two on the ground held their speers loose and backed of.

"I count on your word, that you won't be trouble! You and your men can pass." Again it was the left guard on the arch, that gestured them to move forward. Daenerys was surprised to hear a female voice echo from the stonewalls, but then again she criticized herself for that. Why couldn't be a woman in charge? She of all people shouldn't be surprised by that.

Following her soldiers who were very pleased to escape the narrowness of the passage the Khaleesi urged her horse forward, impressed inspecting the stone arch while passing by. It seemed rather old, over and over vegetated with moss and other small vines, but behind it Daenerys found herself in a round yard in the middle of an good in shape outpost. The mountains seemed to spread out into a small alley here, making place for a two-storied watchtower on one side and stables on the other side.

From this stone tower now approaching over the hard-packed dirt yard were a slim looking archer girl followed by an bearded man clothed in stiff leather. Jorah had already dismounted his horse and was now holding the reins of his queen's mare. Worthy the rank of Khaleesi Daenerys elegantly slipped of the horseback and turned around to greet their hosts. The archer girl was already arrived and nodded her head as a welcoming gesture. Dany furrowed her brows. Is this the way to greet a queen? But she couldn't bear her disapproval for long, because something else was very odd about this girl.

She was dressed in black leather pants with a wide linen shirt tucked into. Her arms and shoulders were covered in armour of brown leather, seamed by light fur that mingled with her long blonde, almost white, hair. The bow on her back finally let her look like a skilled huntsman, but Daenerys just couldn't deal with her face. It was the face of a child, a girl, not of somebody who you were supposed to let guard your land.

"Is there something wrong with my face?" Maybe Daenerys stared a little bit too obviously, because now an amused smirk appeared on the girl's pale lips. "Selen! Have you completely lost your manners?", her companion stepped behind her, abrasively crossing his armes. He topped the Mother of Dragon with almost two feet in height, but somehow she felt more threatened by this dainty girl than him. With his approach to the group two Dothraki men came forward, their hands resting on the sword hilts. The beared guard seemed to feel the tension and relaxed his position. "My apologies, your Grace. We aren't used to visitors, especially not such of your significance."

Daenerys gracefully intervined her fingers. A small smile spread across his face causing the braids his beard was in to jiggle. "My name is Ser Weylyn Greene and this is Selen Xyrrieth, the commander of this outpost." The archer girl based her hands on her hips and her vigilant grey eyes skimmed over the strangers in front of her before she stopped her gaze on the queen herself. "Your grace. You said you want an audience with Lady Onthar, may I ask why?"

Surprised by such straightforwardness Dany speechless opened her mouth, but Jorah already covered for her. "With all respect, Mylady, this is nothing to be discussed in the yard of an guarding outpost." Selen furrowed her brows, obviously displeased with the answer. "Well then. We can't accompany you to the proper place for disccussions like this anymore today." Her melodic voice got deeper now, dripping with temper. "The sky grows darker with every minute, your field horses won't make it up there without broken legs in the night. We'll leave tomorrow at sunrise, if that pleases your highness." It was meant as a question, but the commander didn't wait for an answer, but turned on her heels after indicating a bow at the Khaleesi. As fast as she came she vanished on the walls of the passage, the silver hair flowing behind her.

"Please, excuse her temper...", Ser Weylyn embarrassed asked for Daenerys forgiveness. "You are indeed very welcome, but Selen is right, your men don't seem used to the mountain areas. We provide you shelter and a meal for the night and your horses will have plenty of hay." The Khaleesi nodded her head, giving the knight the indication of a smile. "That is very thoughtful of you, Ser Greene, thank you." Gladly he waved a few men of his nearer and gave them instructions to look after the needs of the Dothraki soldiers and their horses.

Watching the mountain guards rushing over the yard to make their guests comfortable Jorah and Dany followed Weylyn Greene into the chambers above the stables. "We are of course nothing compared to the residences you must use to find shelter in, but I hope you find some rest for the night after all." He opened a wooden door and invited the Khaleesi in with a bow. "I'm going to send a servant to watch after your needs, your Grace."

Dany entered the small room after she sent the knight and Jorah away. Some alone time was exactly what she needed now. The furnishing reduced to the fulfil human's basic needs: One single window gave sight to the stony environment outside the outpost and the last light of the day spreaded across a narrow bed. Everything in these lands seemed to be narrow after all. At least the ruged sheets didn't smell bad beside of a whiff of horse stable.

Daenerys sat down and for a while she just stared into the flickering light of the candle next to her on the wall. Tomorrow would decide wether the whole trip proved to be a waste of time or give her a good advantage after all.

A slight knock on the door let her look up in alert. A muffled voice sounde from the other side. "Ahm..your Grace? I...I was instructed to bring you dinner." Daenerys smiled at the nervous stutter the boy had. "Come in!" With an annoying squeak the door swang open and revealed a young blonde stable boy in the same leather armour most of the guards outside had worn. He balanced a tablet with food and a carafe on one hand and closed the door with the other one. Dany saw the dark liquid spill a little because of his swift movements and she raised from her bed. "Here, let me help you."

"No, it's fine, I-" The boy stopped mid-sentence, caught at his lie by the fact that Daenerys already catched the falling goblin before it could hit the floor. He glared at the floor and mumbled. "I'm much better with a bow than with this..." He looked back up. "Thank you...your Grace." He had the same silverish hair the commander had, but his eyes were of a warm blue. His face had stronger features than Selen's, but it was of the same irritating youth as hers. Pale, rosè skin, without any imperfections, even eyes and lips. Only his nose bone was a little bit crooked, probably broken once.

"What's your name?", Daenerys turned around and gestured him to place the food on a table in the corner. "Inchel, your Grace. But everybody calls me Ino." He placed the plate in front of her, not entirely sure what to do now. "Ino..May I ask, how hold are you?" He let out a small chuckle and gratefully took Dany grabbing the goblin as an invitation to fill it up for her. They must have told him to serve her, he most certainly didn't look or act like a servant. His upright statue made the Khaleesi think that he most likely was another one of the passage guards. "I had my eightteenth name day this year."

He noticed her stunned silence and added "I get this question a lot. Most people think I'm years younger than that. The curse of being an elf, I guess." Daenerys almost swallow up on her wine and let out a repressed cough. Ino helplessly stared at her, not daring to touch. "Your Grace?..Everything alright? Should I get help?" She stopped his rambeling with a wave of her hands, took a few deep breaths to gather herself and rose from the chair. "What do you mean by 'being an elf'?"

Ino backed off a step, suddenly uncertain. "I thought you knew..After you met with Selen-" "Are you telling me you are an elf? Those only exist in fairy tales and legends." The Khaleesi may have rose her voice a little to high, because now from outside the door an uneasy Dothraki guard snapped "Khaleesi, tat yer zigereo rhellaya?" (Do you need help?) The servant boy backed off even more now, anxiously glancing between her and the door. "Anha zin davra!" (I'm fine!), Daenerys turned back to Ino and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I certainly hope you are not lying to me." He swiftly shook his head and stroked his silver hair back behind his ears as prove. The Mother of Dragons couldn't help but fascinated approach the boy who was now showing of a slender ear with an incredibly long tip. She almost came to touch it, but restained herself in the last moment. She withdrew her hand from his side and noticed him releasing a relieved breath. Dany invited him to return to the table with her. "I am sorry, I shouldn't have react so harshly. But..how is this possible? How does it come I never heard of elves existing in these lands?"

Ino slumped down on the other chair and leaned back, a dark shadow manifested on his face. "Because nobody knows. The people think the rotted us out centuries back, but we've always been good at not being seen."

"You are a soldier of Lady Onthar..If this is your strategy of hiding, I don't think it is working very well." - "I am a guard of the White Passage!", the boy proudly straigtened up. "I was tired of hiding all the time, what kind of life is that? That's why I joined Lady Onthar a few years back after-" He stopped and pressed his lips together. "Well, that's not important."

Daenerys nodded in understandment. She wasn't about to force him into talking, but she still wanted to learn more. "So Lady Onthar gave you shelter?" Ino nodded and strains of his hair fell back into his face. "She gave me a reason. To protect the realm of the Banned and Unwanted." Dany knitted her brows at this statement. "What to you mean by that?"

Ino watched her expression intently, then he smirked lightly. "Does your Grace really not know of this? Why else would you come here than to see the Banned Witch and her army of witches and warlocks, elves, halfbloods and dwarfs, and all the other trash the other Lords and Ladies don't want inside their walls?" His blue eyes sparkled keen. "These mountains are a refugee camp for everybody who has nowhere else to go. And they are still a pretty good hiding place...normally at least. We don't really have guests here."

He glanced at the untouched food on the table. "Which reminds me, I've been a terrible host. If you wish I fetch you something new to eat, your Grace. This roast most definetely is cold by now." Daenerys followed his eyes and sighed. "No, it's alright. I enjoyed talking to you, Ino, but now I need to rest and prepare for tomorrow." He took a bow and grabbed the empty holster of where his sword must be used to be. "My pleasure, your Grace, and welcome again in our home."He subtly closed the door behind himself.

Daenerys slumped down in her seat. The realm of the Banned and Unwanted. What did she get herself into? Hopefully the next day would provide her with answers to all this. She would have loved to keep this elf boy a little longer, but Ino unfortunately realized to soon that he was very talkative with a complete stranger after all. His dismissal could almost be seen as rude, but he kept his manners at least. Maybe she could catch him tomorrow to end this conversation with a little bit more answers than questions. But for now, Daenerys would allow herself the rest she needed after a journey like theirs.


	2. The Realm of the Banned and Unwanted

The silver haired woman studied the companions of the Targaryen queen rushing over the yard, packing up their stuff while shouting at each other like savage louts. She let out a despicable snort and pressed the brush firmly against the warm neck of her horse. The animal resigned back into the bay and turned its two-coloured head around to inspect its rider. Sterling was a beefy stallion with a big, round face and warm brown eyes. His fur was of snow-white colour with big patches of reddish brown in between. Selen smiled at him and pecked his forehead while stroking through his short, wiry mane.

"Let's show those big, scary men how useless they are, mhm?" She mustered two Dothraki leading their horses across the stables. Their horses were fine looking, not a question, but they were tall and slim with weak legs. This may be of avantage down in the fields, but up here?

Selen threw the brush back into the bucket and grabbed her saddle from behind. With coordinated movements she bridled her stallion and led him out into the open. The Queen's men still weren't half ready and her grace herself didn't even show up yet. Annoyed the commander leaned against a supportlog of the outpost wall and let Sterling search for treats in her pockets.

"The queen will be ready in a few minutes. What about you?", Ser Weylyn approached from the chambers, his long brown hair constantly eddying into his face. He muffled a curse and pinned it back with a leather strap. "Is the wind messing with your hairdo, Greene?", Selen smirked at him. She had been wise enough to braid her long hair back after she was woken by the wind rattling at her window the same morning.

Her comment earned her a judging look from the old knight. "Please mind your tongue around the queen-" - "If she can't deal with that, maybe this isn't the place for her highness after all." "If you said something like this in Westeros, they would dismissed you from their services..if they are a humble Lord!" Selen spun around and dragged the knight down to her face by his chestplate. "Zylo come and get you if you mention your fine Westeros one more time, Weylyn!" She clenched her fist around his armour. "Don't forget who's in charge here."

His dark grey beard intensified the disgruntled face he made as Weylyn yanked away from the archer girl. Selen could practically feel his struggle to hold back his anger at her. The Ser corrected his askew shoulder plates and tilted up as if his height was supposed to scare her. "Lady Onthar is the one in charge here, halfblood. Without her commands I would have stopped following your orders months ago! One day even she will figure out how much of an arrogant little bitch you are, remember my words."

"The witch loves me, old man!", she yelled after the knight while he was storming away into the watchtower. Loud laughter called her attention back to the foreign warriors which followed the dispute from their horsebacks. The made degrading gestures behind Ser Greene's back and seemed to joke on his costs in their very own harsh sounding language. Maybe Selen would get along with those men after all, they seemed to have the same kind of humour. "Nakho me! Ajjin jin hash yer treat kishi okeo?" (Stop it! Is this how you treat our friend?)

A sharp outcry silenced everybody in the yard at one go. Even the passage guards stopped their current doing and turned around in surprise. Selen pressed her lips together and stepped a few steps forward to have a clear sight up to the balcony in front of the chambers. A very much pissed of Daenerys Targaryen trounced her men with crossed arms. Selen had to admit, somehow this tiny Westerosi woman had an aura of authority reflecting from her. She surely knew how to handle her soldiers.

The Khaleesi was dressed in the same blue garments as the day before, but in addition to that she wore a warming brown fur around her shoulders. Selen made sure this was sent to her grace's room last night when she discovered the cloudless sky above. Usually that was a sign for a chill next day and nobody should ever be able to call the commander a woman without proper hospitality.

Daenerys approached her followed by this snappy knight from the other day. Selen definitely didn't like him. "I was told I have to thank you for this gift?", the Khaleesi stroke the smooth fur with her gracile hands.

"I just couldn't-", Selen bit her tongue. Daenerys watched her with observant blue eyes. Maybe she should really try to stay on good terms with this foreigner and keep her mouth under control for as long as this trip would last. After all this audience could be interesting for Roan and if it turned out not to be, Selen knew she would have the freedom to do as she pleased. The archeress took a slight bow. "I mean: Yes, your Grace. Summer up here doesn't really exist and we are not going to arrive at Harwood Hold until the late afternoon."

Daenerys facial expression loosened up a bit and she exchanged a content look with her adviser. "We? I assume you are going to accompany us?" Selen nodded her head towards the gate. "Me and three soldiers of mine. They are waiting outside in the woods."

"What about Ser Weylyn?" Selen swallowed a sharp comment to that question. This woman really tested her patience. "Ser Weylyn...is needed here, at the passage. He wants me to deliver you his apologies for his absence." Why did she cover for this racist asshole again? Daenerys also seemed to notice the lie, she eyed her opponent suspiciously. Annoyed Selen shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Maybe it is good he's not coming with us. I am not a friend of constant tension in the air." With those words the queen turned around and walked towards her horse. Selen silently cursed her while she mounted her own stallion. Oh damn, was she looking forward to delivering this Dragon Queen to Roan and end this day before it even began.

The traveling party silently marched for a while after the left the gates of the White Passage. The farer away they got the greener got their surroundings. The gruff stone alley vanished and left the horses on soft mud. The grounds were streaked with gnarled roots of compact dark wood trees, almost as dangerous for horse hooves as the loose stones of the mountains.

Selen passed the lead to Fenneck, a clever little thief from Essos. He swore his oath to the Banned Witch three years back after they took his right hand for stealing and didn't cause trouble since that. Enough reason to trust him with a bit of responsibility in the Banned Lands.

But maybe the reason was just Selen's urgent need to get away from this arrogant Westerosi Queen, who would know. She laid Sterling's reins down on his neck and let him search for his own way through the forest. His small hooves caused a consistent sound of plopping in the wet mud and she had to stop him every once in a while, because the Dothraki and their horses struggled a lot on the uneven ground.

Out of a sudden, the queen's knight, Jorah Mormont, appeared beside the commander and greeted her with a nod. "My lady. Your grace wishes for your company in front." - "Why? I'm usually told my company is rather insulting and unpleasant." Selen reined Sterling back shortly before he could manage to reach the taller horse of the knight. The stallion snorted unwillingly and shook his upstanding mane.

Mormont understood the sign and moved his war horse further away. "Well...I'm not going to judge you on that." He smirked aware of her temper. "But your grace still wants to talk to you and I wouldn't keep her waiting for too long if a may give you that advice."

"What is she going to do against that, Westerosi? I'm already obeying one queen, don't need another." With those words Selen clicked her tongue and Sterling fell into an excited canter, swiftly passing by the startled Dothraki, not once tripping over a groot or stone. Selen triumphantly felt her cloak waving in the cold breeze, but she soon had to cut her horse off as the silver braids of the Dragon Queen were within sight. Daenerys turned around in surprise as the compact mountain horse stopped next to her. She looked over the distinct muscles beneath his fuzzy fur.

"Your horse is astoundingly agile for its size." Selen stroke Sterling's croup as a small reward for his good behaviour and furrowed her brows at the Khaleesi. If she wanted to talk about horses, she could have done so with her knight. "Why did you send your handyman out for me?"

An amused smile played around the corners of Daenerys' lips. "No small talk then, fine by me." The queen remained silent for a while, concentrating on guiding her mare up a small hill. The path Selen chose for the ride wasn't very broad and rather winding with a lot of undergrowth and branches in their way. Normally this path was only used by hunters and mercuries. It was difficult, but the fastest way to Harwood Hold and secretly Selen still hoped for the Targaryen to break her journey off.

Upon the hill the forest opened up and gave sight into a peaceful valley. A rather new built village sat at its ground and in the distance the residents pursued their daily tasks under the rising sun.

Daenerys stopped her horse and with that the whole travelling party. Selen gave Fenneck a sign to wait before she turned back to the queen. The Khaleesi gazed over the vale. "So this is supposed to be the realm of the Banned and Unwanted. It doesn't look damned to me at all." Selen straighten up in alert. "Who told you of that name?"

The commander took by surprise was satisfying the Khaleesi. Knowing of her advantage she looked Selen straight in the eye. "I had a very nice chat with this boy, Ino. But I still would like to know a little bit more." She directed her mare just inches next to Selen. Sterling started to step in place nervously and tossed up his head. "I'm sure you have answers to my questions." With that she animated her horse and rode off, leaving an upset Selen behind. "Ino... In Zylo's name, I swear, I am going to kill this stupid boy someday.", she swore.

She pulled the reins around and pushed Sterling into a powerful gallop until the party caught up with the queen and her guards again. Silently the two women rode next to each other until the group dispensed. Now nobody but the two Dothraki guards behind them could possibly hear what they were talking, but as far as Selen knew, they didn't speak the common tongue.

"I was wondering...", Selen felt the gaze of the queen at her side. "If you were to pin up your hair, would I find your ears to be of ... rather uncommon shape?" The archeress clenched her fists around the reins. That question would have sounded ridiculous for possibly everyone else, but for Selen it meant something. Something very unpleasant. "I'm not going to change my hairstyle for you, your Grace.", she responded cocky. Daenerys leaned a bit forward in her saddle; her eyes were sparkling in triumph. "So it is true then."

"What do you mean?" Selen decided to play the game for a little longer. "You are an elf.", the Dragon Queen restrained her fascination and put on her serious face once again. With a startled face the commander spun around. "That was straight-forward! Didn't know your kind of people knows how to deal without chitchat." Daenerys smirked. "I am not really around my kind of people at lot. May I remind you, you still haven't answered my question, Commander."

Selen furrowed her brows and turned back to the path in front of them. The Khaleesi noticed her dissatisfaction and softened her tone. "My army consists of the most different people man could imagine. I would never dare to judge anybody by what they are."

"Yet here you are, asking me about the shape of my ears." - "I want to know why you are hiding them. Why are you hiding what you are?"

"Sometimes what you are is not what you need to be if you want to survive."

Daenerys just nodded in agreement as an answer. A dull shadow moved over her otherwise flawless face as if her own memories provoked similar negative feelings on this topic. Selen of course noticed that glimpse of a weakness. "Seems like I said something you can relate to. So tell me, what happened to the Queen of Dragons?" The silver-haired made herself comfortable in the saddle again, now that she got the lead of this conversation back.

"You're a Westerosi and I've been told your house got major influence there. I actually can't believe you missed any kind of comfort growing up." Smirking Selen knew she hit a weak spot as Daenerys flashed her ice blue eyes angrily at her, but just a blink of an eye later she regretted being so cocky.

The Targaryen queen had swiftly pulled her mare in front of Sterling causing the painted stallion to stumble at the sudden stop. His back leg slipped of the trail as he tried to find his balance again and Selen felt him almost collapsing on the loose ground. Out of reflex she jumped off her horse and pushed him from the side, risking her own feet losing ground beneath them, until he stood back on the trail snorting.

Outraged the commander turned to the foreign woman, who watched the incident in silence and without any actual emotion showing her concern.

"What in Sevnic's name do you think?!" This time Selen most definitely wouldn't hold back her temper. As she stepped forward, the queen had to fight to keep her nervous mare in place. "You got twenty of your half-naked pathetic warriors with you, if you want to kill your only guide and protection in these mountains, give them a try! But pushing my horse of a hillside… Did your parents bathe their little princess too hot?!"

Selen felt the blood rushing through her veins after this moment of shock and her melodic voice was deeper and roughened by anger. She enjoyed seeing the beautiful white mare getting frightened just by her walking up to it and shouting at its rider.

"If you can't take counter to your own questions, I got some advice for you: Don't ask them at all.", Selen ignored the fact, that her Grace wanted to say something and lowered her voice just a bit. "Or otherwise a lot of people here are going to answer you not just with words." With that the mountain commander backed off and returned to her stallion, while she exchanged a disquietingly knowing glance with Fenneck.

The trusted soldier had moved his horse as close to the scene as possible in case his help was needed and now he eyed the dragon queen and her followers displeasingly. He knew Selen would handle everything on her own and with some delight he saw, that the Dothraki men on the other hand were very much at ease. Because of the narrow trail they couldn't get past to their queen, which seemed to be a huge problem for them. Couldn't this woman protect herself at all?

Now Selen had mounted Sterling again and rushed past Daenerys to finally leave these crazy foreigners behind. Gladly her stallion didn't take away any serious injuries from his fall and so she closed up to Fenneck so that they could take over the lead together and get this party moving again. Selen didn't look back to see if the Westerosi were to keep up with the fast trot Sterling had fallen into. By now, she just wanted to bring them to Roan and tell her to send them away forever. They didn't belong into this realm, at all.

At the time they finally left the dark wood forest behind them, the sun was already on its highest point. Since the incident at the hill silence had fallen over the group, only the Dothraki were shouting at each other in their strange language every once in a while and, if she turned around, Selen could see Daenerys and Jorah discussing something with serious faces.

Next to her Fenneck lifted a water bottle to his mouth. "It's noon. Are we taking a break?" Selen narrowed her eyes to see against the sunlight the way in front of her. "No. It's not that far anymore."

The red-haired man rested his bottle on the saddle-horn and nodded his head to the behind. "Come on, Commander, look at them. Their horses can't even take their weight anymore. Do you want to carry them yourself?" Selen threw a quick glance back at the group. Fenneck was right, their horses were covered in sweat, some of them had bleeding cuts on their legs and a few men already decided to continue on their own feet instead of the saddle.

A wonder her grace hadn't sent her handyman out already to tell Selen that she should be more considerate to her guests. Seemingly she lost some of her confidence, a progress Selen knew to appreciate.

Anyway Fenneck was right, they needed a rest. Not because the Westerosi woman would be satisfied by that, Selen decided on this only because of the horses. They never asked to be driven up these mountains, they didn't have a choice. "Fine, we're going to stop in the next village.", she said trying to sound uninterested.

Fenneck nodded with a grin that showed his rotten teeth. "Good decision. I'm going to tell them." He pulled his horse around and hurried away to the Khaleesi and her Khalasar. Meanwhile Selen tilted her head at the mountains in front of her. She knew that Harwood Hold laid just behind one of those grey peaks, so near and yet still a few hours of tense traveling away.

"Roan better stand me a lot of beer for this, right, Sterling?" The archeress petted her stallion's neck and sighed. "I hope this queen is at least somehow useful for us…"


	3. Harwood Hold

The day got a lot brighter since they left those distressing forests, or at least that was how Daenerys perceived it. She tried to convince herself that from now on everything would work out fine and make all the exertions worth it.

"My queen, look. That has to be the village they were talking about." Jorah pointed to a few billows of smoke behind a stone ridge in front of them. Dany followed his sign. "I hope so, for all of us. Is your horse going to make it that far?" Worried she examined Jorah's horse, which had to deal with a more and more swollen leg. After they stumbled over a hidden grout a couple of miles back the consultant of the queen had already decided to move on his own feet and so he walked between the animals, leading both his and Daenerys' horse along the way.

"He's a fighter." Jorah simply answered. "But we surely are going to arrive later than our hosts." The Khaleesi could hear the grudges in his voice. She lifted her head and examined the men ahead of them. The group had expended a lot since the incident in the forest. Except for the two passage archers and her own loyal Dothraki guards Daenerys and Jorah were the tail light of this party. Her other men tried to follow their guides as fast as their horses could go, but only a few managed to hold a trot for more than a few feet at a time.

Daenerys knew that with her unthoughtful decision back in the woods she managed to fall from the little favour that Selen might have had for her. Admittedly the commander wasn't a very polite hostess anyway, but now she seemed to just don't care at all anymore. The Khaleesi watched another one of her soldiers get of his exhausted horse and she exchanged an worried look with Jorah. Dothraki do not walk under any circumstances, they believe walking is for wimps and slaves. To see her unbroken warriors voluntarily chose shame by walking over possibly losing their horses made Dany realise, that they must have lost their sense of being in control.

And they were right. In these lands there were no big Khalasars that would fight alongside them. There was no endless supply of strong, young horses that they could take if the old one lost its strength. None of them was used to steep rocky hills instead of flat even plains, huge trees with treacherous roots instead of dry grass waving in the wind or muddy slippery paths instead of the hard dusty dirt in their homeland. These lands were not their place to be and they knew it. With this realization Daenerys started to doubt. Everything. What if all of this was senseless? If this woman, whom she knows nothing about other than the fact that she maybe could help her, was to decline her offer, Dany would not only have wasted substantial number of resources on this trip but she was also risking the trust of her soldiers. She fought so hard and lost so much to get to this point and now it was possibly all for nothing.

"It's going to be fine, my queen. We knew it wouldn't be easy and still all of them followed you up here without questioning." Jorah plastered a smile on his face to give his words the positive undertone they were supposed to have. Dany took a deep breath. "You know very well that they are questioning my every move. But that doesn't matter as long as I'm proving myself to be right." Which was exactly, what she needed to achieve with Lady Onthar, prove that it was in everyone's best interest if they worked together.

While Daenerys was preoccupied with her thoughts the travel party passed the last hill between them and the village that was to be the last stop before their final destination. As Dany dismounted her mare, all of her men were already settled down on a small pasture in front of the first cottages of the village. A few residents started to gather, some of them watching the foreigners curious, others with their arms crossed and displeased looks on their faces. Dany gave her horse to one of her guards and rearranged her cloak, while she was watching the young commander exchanging a few words with bearded old man, who eyed the Khaleesi suspiciously.

Selen then came towards the group with a fast pace. "I'm not going to take all of your men to Harwood, only those absolutely necessary. Two of my men are going to stay here with the rest. The villagers kindly offered to provide water and food for both horses and soldiers if and _only_ if..." The voice of the dainty commander sharpened even more. "No foreigner is going in or closer to the village than we are now." Daenerys was taken by surprise by this term. Since her arrival in the mountains the people she met may not have been the nicest, but they at least offered them enough hospitality to not seem seriously hostile. The villagers on the other hand didn't seem to care about manners.

The silver-haired commander noticed the queen's dissatisfaction. "They don't want you or your men here. And I can't really blame them for that." Selen's voice was dripping with a mix of anger and disappointment as she spat these words in Daenerys' face. Then she turned on her heels and marched away while shouting over her shoulder "We are moving on in a few minutes, chose your companions!"

"Khaleesi, if I may suggest, I think it would be a good idea for me to stay here with your men." Jorah Mormont stepped closer, his arms behind his back and standing upright like the knight he was supposed to be. The journey left him battered and tired just like everybody else, but he tried his best to hide it. Dany nodded while she still eyed Selen, who was now watering her horse on the other side of the pasture. The Khaleesi couldn't figure out where the disappointed undertone in the girl's voice suddenly came from. She definitely understood the anger, but not the sad look in her eyes.

Finally Daenerys managed to pull herself together and gave all her attention to her advisor. "Yes, it seems to be the wisest decision. You are going to be in command. Make sure they all behave and do not give our hosts any reason to complain about us." The knight took a small bow and made a move to go away, but Dany stopped him mid-action. "And find me the two soldiers whose horses are in the best condition possible. I want them to guard me for the rest of this journey."

"As you wish, Khaleesi." With these words she was left behind alone in the muddy pasture. For just few seconds Dany closed her eyes and felt the cold wind playing with her tangled hair. A few drops of water landed on her blushed cheeks and she prayed to the gods that hopefully it wasn't about to start raining until they finally reached the castle. The fur cloak Selen gave her kept Dany's shoulders and back warm, but it completely failed on her legs and feet. The travel clothes she wore were made out of thick fabric, but they weren't made by someone who had ever experienced weather in the mountains. The aggressive wind successfully fought its way through the cloth hours ago and left Dany's legs first in stinging burn, then cold and numb and her feet started to get wet despite her boots the second she got of her horse onto this meadow. Not to mention that every single muscle in her body was in pain after that many days in the saddle.

But Daenerys wasn't about to complain about any of this. Just a few hours and it would all be over and she would finally have access to her way back home, to Westeros. She decided to not let her doubts control any of her thoughts anymore, because how was she to convince Lady Onthar to believe in any of her plans if she didn't even believe herself? She was a Targaryen, a Khaleesi and in near future the rightful queen on the Iron Throne.

The tramping of hooves in the mud called Dany back into reality and she had to blink a few times to actually see the two Dothraki towering up in front of her. "Khaleesi, kisha hash elat tat dothralat ma yer." (Khaleesi, we are going to ride with you.) Lanno, a slim young warrior, almost wispy for a Dothraki, but with hidden strong muscles helped her mounting her white mare before he easily jumped on his own horse. He and Gezro, who always had a harsh face behind dark strains of hair that got loose of his long braid, rode next to her as they approached Selen and her companion outside the pasture.

The commander gave them one quick glance, then she hurried her painted horse around and on a dirt road, or at least Daenerys thought it was supposed to be a road. It was broader than the path they travelled on before and a lot more even, which made it easier for the Dothraki horses to catch up with the fast trot Selen determined them to go. Because of this hectic start Dany first came to realize that the silver-haired didn't speak a word after they already rode a few minutes.

With the small group they were now, it was less challenging to keep up the same pace and soon everybody had found their place. Selen was leading, followed by the Targaryen queen and the Dothraki and in the end one of the passage guards, a dark-skinned man with a curly grey beard that flew in the wind. Dany decided to use the opportunity and moved her horse next to Selen, where they could speak privately.

"You are surprisingly quiet. I hope you didn't lose your wit just yet. It was-" – "I didn't lose my wit. You just pissed me of, your Grace!" Dany held her breath for a second on this unexpected response. Now that was just rude, not witty anymore at all! How did this girl dare to talk back like that? To a queen even! How on earth was anyone to give this savage any kind of responsibility? The Khaleesi furrowed her brows and was more than ready to show Selen her place, but before she could do so she noticed the poised smirk around the archeress' rosè lips.

That's right. Daenerys had forgotten that this indeed was Selen's place. She was commander of who knows how many men with the law of a self-appointed queen behind her, in a land that was more than hostile towards the Khaleesi and her Khalasar. Also if you believed the sayings, Lady Onthar was a banned witch and defeated the army of her own brother within four days. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to continue provoking Selen any more than she already was.

Because of that Dany did the only good thing and got over her pride, at least for now. "Selen, I am sorry. We didn't start of in a good way and I truly regret that." The Khaleesi saw the other woman eying her suspiciously while she still pretended to watch the road ahead of them. "I mean it. I came here on the search for allies not enemies." Selen played with the ends of her reigns pensively. "Allies for what exactly?" She sounded truly interested, but why wouldn't she be if some strangers suddenly appeared at her borders without any explanation other than 'the half-brother of your queen mentioned she can maybe help us'.

"I am not sure if I can talk about this here..." Daenerys knew she risked falling from Selen's favour again by not sharing her interests now, but luckily the commander only shrugged her shoulders. "Fine by me, I'm going to hear everything anyway after we arrive. Everything and more."

"So you are one of Lady Onthar's trusted consultants?" That question made Selen let out an amused chuckle. "Yes, you could say that. She does trust me, most of the time. But a consultant? I don't think that's the right word to describe it." Daenerys decided to let this slide and kept silence for a while as she was guiding her horse up a hill trying to avoid loose stones as much as possible. Suddenly Selen pushed her stallion in front of her mare. "Let go of your reigns and let your horse follow mine. Trust your companion." Dany hesitated but then she opened the fists she didn't even realise had made and gave her mare the freedom to choose herself. Immediately the horse tilted up her ears and moved forward much more confidently until they almost crashed into the hindquarters of Selen's stallion. The young woman had watched everything and nodded approvingly. "With your men you may be a queen and leader, but with your horse you should be able to be partners. Don't work against it, they usually have a reason why they behave the way they do. Start listening."

Daenerys didn't fail to hear the sudden change of attitude in the close-mouthed warrior. Not only did Selen talk about the horses in a much more gentle way than Dany ever heard her speak, she also softened up her posture while she was comfortingly rubbing the neck of her stallion.

"You really seem to care for your horse." It was meant as a compliment, but Selen only threw an almost disgusted glance back to the Khaleesi. "Yeah, I do. Just as everybody else should instead of abusing theirs as means to an end." And with that the short moment without tension was gone again. Daenerys took a deep breath. Trying to keep the peace with this girl was harder than winning an actual war. What if Lady Onthar turned out to be just as difficult to deal with?

"The Dothraki, my people, may have different relationships to their horses than you, but they all care about them. These animals are their livelihood, their whole existence. My horse was given to me as a gift by my husband. He meant everything to me and it is the only thing that still gives me a feeling as if he was here." Daenerys stroke her mares entangled mane when sudden pain overcame her as she saw Drogo first in all his strength, then weak and ill before her inner eye. Selen had moved next to her again. "He's dead, am I right?"

Dany pushed away those hurtful memories and hurried her horse forward. This was definitely something she wasn't going to share with this strange woman. "I lost people, too. And yes, it hurts. But suppressing the feelings is not going to make it any easier on you, your grace. Maybe we have something in common after all..." Selen's melodic voice hit a nerve, but as a queen Daenerys was not going to admit that. Where did these mature words out of a mouth this rash come from anyway?

"I didn't lose him. I killed him." The Khaleesi straightened up in her saddle and spoke with a stern almost cold voice. The commander apparently wanted to know her feelings, so with not give her a hint. Behind Dany it suddenly got very quiet despise the steady stamping of hooves on the road. "Didn't expect your grace to be a murderer. Maybe you do belong in these lands after all..." Selen pushed her stallion into a faster pace and took the front position from Daenerys. "Now let me lead or we are never going to arrive."

After that the rest of the way they all rode in silence and as much Dany wanted to start a conversation at the beginning, she was now very content about not having to talk any more. As the progressed the road got steeper and steeper therefore the group hat to slow down as the Dothraki horses struggled to go on. Dany felt the air getting thinner around them as they got higher and their sight was soon minimized because of the thick fog approaching. Or maybe it was even the clouds already; she had lost the sense of height completely.

Suddenly a dark silhouette emerged out of the impermeable grey in front of them and grew in size with every step they took forward. Daenerys started to make out dark grey castle walls that blended in perfectly with the mountain peak they were built around. She saw mossy support logs beneath hastate roofs, where the fog started gathering in form of growing waterdrops. A few torches on the building bathed the otherwise very uninviting dark building in a warm light. Every once in a while a screeching black bird cut through the grey sky above them and vanished as fast as it came.

Daenerys was taken by surprise when the group suddenly set foot on a massive stone bridge and the hooves beneath her no longer make the same meditative stomp sound but started echoing from the mountains with every step they took. As if that was a signal, the huge wooden gate in front of them opened slowly and with an uncomfortable creaking. "Welcome to Harwood Hold!" bursted out the beared passage guard behind them, almost sounding exited.

So this was it then. Daenerys examined the castle walls a last time as she rode past them. She reached the final destination of her mission. She made it.


End file.
